‘Spies Traitors, Saboteurs’ new exhibit at Holocaust Museum
Most Americans remember the moment they learned that terrorists had attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, and regard that day’s events as a turning point that forever altered their sense of security. The reality is American civilians have endured hundreds of incidents of violence by foreign agents, domestic terrorists and militant radicals.
How should the United States balance civil liberties and individual rights during times of conflict, crisis and fear? “Spies, Traitors and Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America,” a creation of the International Spy Museum now on exhibit at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie, explores this vital question and offers an unprecedented perspective into the stories of espionage, treason, and deception that Americans have contended with since the founding days of the republic — a subject once again at the nation’s forefront since Sept. 11.
“The Sept. 11 attacks were a pivotal moment for so many Americans as they represented the first time that our freedoms and security had been so violently assaulted by terrorists on American soil,” said Rick Hirschhaut, executive director of the Illinois Holocaust Museum. “‘Spies, Traitors, and Saboteurs’ is a significant exhibition for this institution because terrorism in any form is an assault on freedom — and the promotion of human rights is a vital part of the mission of the Illinois Holocaust Museum.”
Visitors will encounter these historical events through interactive displays, photographs, films, video and artifacts, including fragments of one the planes used to attack the World Trade Center in 2001. At interactive stations following the themes of the exhibition — revolution, sabotage, hate, radicalism, world war, subversion, protest, extremism and terrorism — visitors can record their opinions on issues of national security and civil liberties and compare their reactions to those of past Gallup polling results.
“Spies, Traitors and Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America” illustrates the challenge of securing our nation without compromising the civil liberties upon which it was founded. Don’t miss this provocative exhibition which enlightens visitors while prompting them to challenge and discover their own beliefs and assumptions.
The Golder Family Foundation is the lead sponsor for all special exhibitions at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center. Additional support is provided by Rotarians for Peace.
The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center is the largest facility in the Midwest dedicated to preserving the memories of those lost in the Holocaust and to teaching current generations to fight hatred, indifference and genocide in today’s world.
The museum, 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday; and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Learn more at www.ilholocaustmuseum.org.
Featuring the largest permanent collection of international spy-related artifacts on public display, the International Spy Museum is the only public museum in the United States solely dedicated to espionage and the only one in the world to provide a global perspective on this profession. The museum is at 800 F St. NW, in Washington, D.C.’s historic Penn Quarter. Visit spymuseum.org or call (202) 393-7798.